BERTIE Project 3 by Samir King

Final Year - Semester 1

w1804553 — 2023-12-11 03:12:11 UTC

After my meeting with Raine on the 5th of September, it took a while to finally get the ball rolling but I now have a plan for my practice this year. The plan is to combine the stop-motion animation i've done before and mix it with the horror story I started on, inspired by the Mandela Catalog.

By the end of Wednesday the 18th October, I hopefully will be able to upload the beginnings, starting off with some 1:100 tiny human models. I'm going to start off with simple animation without a story in mind for now, then next week is when I started deliberating on the story.

21st November

w1804553 — 2023-12-11 03:12:11 UTC

So far, my plan is that I want to use the next 4 days to squeeze out some experimentation so I can have enough ideas to put out a competetant script on the 25th. From there I want to use the rest of November to produce my Final Piece.

On the 22nd, I want to attempt a remake of my latest LEGO video. For now, I need to start checking out the media I have listed under 'Research'.

27th November

w1804553 — 2023-12-11 03:12:11 UTC

It has been 6 days since my last update, and sadly there hasn't been much progress. I will update the padlet with what progress I have made but it will be brief.

Last Wednesday, the 22nd, was when I intended to remake my last video and edit it with music and sound effects. Sadly I ended up sick enough to be forced to stay in bed and sleep.
In the evening on the 23rd I was still sick but I was well enough to get up and film a re-do of the second half of the old animation, with a new villain. I didn't have the energy to go on my laptop for heavy editing, however. I was going to leave the editing to the 24th.

Then on the 24th I came down with something else entirely that is still with me on the 27th, just to a much lesser extent. I'm going to attend the meetings I have on Tuesday tomorrow, and see if I can finally get to editing that remake.

I will reinvent my timeline for my work so that I am filming the actual Final Piece this upcoming weekend so it'll all be ready for December 8th.

Final Update

w1804553 — 2023-12-11 03:12:11 UTC

On Friday 8th November, I was able to get my space set up for my work. On Monday morning on the 11th, I will print out my Final Evaluation from my phone, so I can stick it on the left wall of my installation.

For the weekend, i'll be heading to my Dads house at some point to completely update my Padlet and write up the Final Evaluation since my Mums internet went AWOL (something went wrong with BT in general for the area).

Looking back on my final storyboard, it's surprising to me that while I kept to mostly similar story beats, when it finally came down to filming and editing, I ended up changing so much, and the video became my longest final piece yet in terms of video length. The file is too big to upload as-is to Padlet without paying for it, so I may either upload to YouTube first and then post, or compress the file to fit within 20MB.

I also will upload a video to Padlet last minute on Monday to show the video playing in the intended space.

Research To-Do

w1804553 — 2023-12-11 03:12:11 UTC

This project is intended to continue the narrative of BERTIE, a monster inspired by the Alternates from the Mandela Catalogue, a YouTube Horror series. A good first step is to watch the videos that came out after Volume 4, such as 'The Mystifying Oracle'.

I was also recommended to check out 'The Enfield Poltergeist'. I intend to do this by checking out the 49 minute documentary by the BBC, which is up on YouTube.

Finally, since I have shifted to using LEGO figures in my work this semester, I intend to revisit (to a small extent) the LEGO Ninjago and LEGO Monkey Kid series'. I will post on what I could take as inspiration as I check them out.

Enfield Poltergeist

w1804553 — 2023-12-11 03:12:11 UTC

I was recommended to check this story out because of the horror theme of my BERTIE story.

The Enfield Poltergeist was an alleged ghost that started harrassing a family some time after a divorce. It is believed that the ghost that harrassed the family was the previous tenant who died in his chair.

I watched the Channel 4 Documentary on the story from 2007, since it was up for free on YouTube. It honestly lost me a little around the last quarter so it'd probably be best to check out something more contemporary on YouTube. I saw that Apple TV had had their own recent documentary but I don't want to pay for it.

The main inspiration I want to take from this is to take the mischief from the poltergeist and have BERTIE reflect that behaviour to prove he is even more dangerous than first thought. I can have the main character chilling at home until BERTIE starts causing trouble, and once the main character is good and scared, BERTIE strikes. If I feel like it, I can add the LEGO main character to the PSA segment, though having 4 realistic white men followed by a LEGO man might be taking the mick too much. It'd be hilarious rather than scary.

Mystifying Oracle

w1804553 — 2023-12-11 03:12:11 UTC

While my BERTIE story got off the ground thanks to the Mandela Catalogue inspiring me, I felt it would be best to finally check out other content Alex Kister made for his channel.

Mystifying Oracle as a series of videos set in the winter of 2008 to 2009. There are 3 episodes out at the time of writing. The main character is Joel who bought an old Ouija Board off of eBay, figuring it'd make for some good early YouTube content. Obviously in stories like this, it usually doesn't go well, but considering what the ""ghost"" said through the Ouija Board in Part 3, there just might be a way out.

Watching these videos reminded me of YouTube and amateur video-making well over a decade ago. I was never making videos myself or watching YouTube at all until I got my first phone. For my Final Piece, I think I don't want to heavily focus so much on Stop-Motion alone. I want to combine it with a new, fresh attempt at live-action film shots as well. I want to mimic the mid-2000s amateur video quality like the "Mystifying Oracle" so greatly achieves.

Anothe point I want to make is that MO Part 3 ends with a recording of an American Christian talk-show where a question came in asking a highly relevant question on Ouija Boards, where the Pastor greatly warns against them. A verse from the Bible overlays the video near the very end via YouTube Captions which was placed there for a narrative purpose. Alex Kister involves Christianity in his work because Mandela Catalogue was born from a personal religious crisis he was having himself. Personally, while I like what he's done with MC and how Christianity plays a key role in his work, I personally will NOT be attempting to put religion into my BERTIE story line, regardless of its roots.

David Shrigley's Notice

w1804553 — 2023-12-11 03:12:11 UTC

I was pointed towards this work because I made posters for my previous BERTIE episodes, which doubled as advertising for my work, and to set the tone for them, getting people thinking about the missing people before they see the final video. I'm not sure whether I'll add the posters for episode 3 yet, especially since the missing peoples cases are piling up.

'Notice' is special because it's just a sign warning you about a man making little model figures of you, where the strangeness of the message is humourous.

https://davidshrigley.com/photography/notice

Bruce Nauman's 'Performance Corridor'

w1804553 — 2023-12-11 03:12:11 UTC

I needed a dark enclosed space for my final piece, especially because it was a continuation of the BERTIE storyline. In a meeting with my tutor, I heard of Bruce Nauman. I then took a look at his work in my own time and decided that Nauman's Performance Corridor would be good inspiration for how I would present my work this time. I liked the small space, because it gave a claustrophobic feeling, and the glow of the TVs at the end of the corridor fit the vibes I wanted for my work.

Figure Test

w1804553 — 2023-12-11 03:12:11 UTC

After I decided on what direction to take my project, I bought a pack of plastic models of people. I bought these to get myself started, and get myself into the necessary mindset to work. I went out to the closest park to me and took some pictures of the figures among nature. I chose to do this because it worked well enough as a test in a previous project with Pokémon figures.

Disaster

w1804553 — 2023-12-11 03:12:11 UTC

I took this photo on an old wooden tableset in the park. I looked at the broken wood around the hole and decided to place the figures carefully near it. I did this to mimic the epicentre of some disaster that's long since past, as the people have come to check out the leftover destruction.

I also happened to lose a figure before this picture was taken. I lost the little girl figure through the hole, and I couldn't find it among the woodchips on the ground. Considering that this is an experiment for the BERTIE narrative i'm building, it's sort of fitting to lose a figure so soon.

Raining

w1804553 — 2023-12-11 03:12:11 UTC

I was originally intending to head to the park to take photos again when I took this photo. Unfortunately it was raining so I had to stay indoors. I took this picture because I thought the gloomy atmosphere would make for a nice, gloomy photo.

Storyboard

w1804553 — 2023-12-11 03:12:11 UTC

I knew that i'd need to start actually animating at some point, so I made a short storyboard for the figure with the phone. He'd be distracted as he walked across 3 macro landscapes until he falls down and looks into the deep dark cup, where someone is waiting to deliver a terrible fate upon him.

For filming, it would take me from the park, to the playground behind my flat, back into my homes kitchen. The way i'd animate the figure would be that i'd have then shuffle along since they lack articulation of any kind.

Lost

w1804553 — 2023-12-11 03:12:11 UTC

At the time of posting, i've ended up losing all of the figures before I could film and follow the storyboard. I procrastinated on starting to film because I came to realise that i'd need to hunt for all the pieces of my tripod so I could film more comfortably and consistently. Holding my phone in my hand would lead to too much shaking and it'd be far more time-consuming.

I have already decided to move on to using my brother's LEGO minifigures instead since they had more articulation. I also took a glance at the tutorials offered by the Stop Motion Animation App, which features LEGO figures. I thought it'd be an easy exchange.

First Video

w1804553 — 2023-12-11 03:12:11 UTC

I finally got around to making a short video. I used a LEGO minifigure from LEGO Ninjago. Because I still didn't have a functioning tripod or anything to hold my phone in place, there isn't much in the way of animation, something I intend to change soon.

Near the end of the "animation", I accidentally left my finger in frame for a couple of frames. I was going to remove them in post-production until I realised that it looked like I was pointing the figure and the camera in the direction of the duck at the end of the pier. It was a nice bit of humour so I left it in.

The music used is 'The Weekend Whip' by The Fold. This was chosen because it was made explicitly for the LEGO Ninjago series, just like the minifigure. The minifigure itself unintentionally has parts from two of the main characters (the main body of Jay and the head and hair piece of Kai).

In the end I'll want to use an unlicensed minifigure as my main character when the time comes for filming, however.

LEGO Test

w1804553 — 2023-12-11 03:12:11 UTC

This video was made as an attempt to improve from the previous video. Here I aimed to use some actual animation rather than let the camera do all the work as I did the last time. I filmed this in two parts on the 13th November in the kitchen and on the 15th in one of the bedrooms. I do not intend to stretch filming times like this for the rest of the project.

In terms of the characters used, I mainly used LEGO figures from the LEGO Ninjago series since those were what I had on hand. In terms of finances I likely won't be able to buy new figures in time, so i'll have to be content with the figures I already have access to.

When I accidentally left my finger in the last video, I felt it was pretty successful because it matched the flow of the camera and added positively to the tone and humor of the video. This time, I used myself directly to act as an antagonistic force that torments the characters. Within the Stop-Motion Studio app, I changed the look of some frames, inverting some to show that the character i'm playing isn't just some big bad human, but something more supernatural and evil.

The amalgamation at the end of the video was meant to be under my control which is why it was cupped in my hands during the (frankly terrible) attempt of a versus screen, thinking that i'd add a lighting strike between them post-production. Another thing that went wrong was that I failed to move the Red Ninja from the background as I attempted to make the villain laugh. I also had issues with the camera's focus which combined with the other small issues to make me want to re-make the video.

I intend to remake the video tomorrow, using a new character as well as added sound. I want to ensure that everything about the sound is perfect for this and the final piece. I need to perfect the timing and use sound effects to make these as unsettling as possible. I will be looking back at the Mandela Catalogue to find further inspiration on audio.

The Second Half, now with sound

w1804553 — 2023-12-11 03:12:11 UTC

It took me a while to get myself to finally get down to adding audio to my last video, which hopefully won't take too long since I know my current limitations now.

Like in my first test, I used the song "The Weekend Whip" from the LEGO Ninjago series since the protagonist of this video is a LEGO minifigure from that series. I also used music from the 2003 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series, specifically the Shredder's theme, for the villain in the video because the theme is quite menacing. I do wish I could get more crispy images for my animations but those are most likely just the limitations of Stop Motion Studio.

My biggest issue right now is that I had to add audio to this on my phone too. It feels more convenient since it doesn't require me to find a place to put my laptop and sit down, but Stop Motion Studio is limited in editing ability in ways that Premiere Pro is superior for. There are no wires at my Mums house that let me connect my phone to my laptop consistently and let me connect transfer files.

I am going to my Dad's house after I finalise the placement of my future work at Uni on Thursday. I'm going to finish the editing on all videos properly, and get this final animation done by this weekend.

Final Storyboard?

w1804553 — 2023-12-11 03:12:11 UTC

This is the final storyboard i'm making before I start filming. The story is going to start with a PSA like Part 1 and the end of Part 2, adding to the list of victims. I'll be the latest victim because I played myself in the live-action sections of Part 2. It will then switch to a LEGO figure surprised at what they just saw, and they turn the TV off to process it. Then their stomach starts growling. They start thinking about going to the kitchen to grab some food when the balcony door mysteriously opens.

The lights switch off and on by themselves, signifying that BERTIE has let himself in uninvited. The LEGO ninja decides that he isn't going down without a fight, and searches the house, with a reference to the cup that was intended to appear in the video from my first storyboard for this project.

Eventually he gives up, at which point BERTIE comes to him. The LEGO ninja tries fighting back but the video ends, implying that he failed to save himself.

BERTIE 3: The Arrival

w1804553 — 2023-12-11 03:12:11 UTC

This video went through a few iterations before I could consider it finished. After filming was done, I realized I didn't like the original ending, where BERTIE was going to look exactly like me, as I laugh and eat the LEGO Ninja at the end. It looked way too goofy for me personally, so I changed it so the true fate of the LEGO figure is left up in the air, ending with a creepy face and static noises taken from 'Five Nights at Freddy's 4'. There was also a scene with the LEGO figure feeling hungry, daydreaming about going to the fridge, so he gets up then hears a knock on the balcony door. I took it out after some feedback because it dropped the tension too much, which I agree with. I did this along with some timing changes.

I used sound effects from freesounds.org, and the music for when the LEGO Ninja took up a sword was from the 2003 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' series, this time Raphael's theme. I chose that track because I felt it best fit the change in tone, a ninja taking up arms and searching for danger.

Another thing to mention is that the dark ninja in the mask the protagonist meets was originally meant to be the protagonist according to the storyboards. I made a last-minute decision to change to the Red Ninja because he showed up more clearly on the apps frames, and I could potentially get a better range of emotions. I brought him back as a victim because it would be a nice callback for me and something interesting for the narrative.

If I were to remake this video, I would consider using a different type of camera or app to test different video quality so my animations could look nicer. Feedback was also monumental in improving this as much as I have, so next semester, I want to get started sooner and seek advice more often from the people around me so I can improve my work at a more rapid pace.

Final Evaluation

w1804553 — 2023-12-11 03:12:11 UTC

BERTIE 3: Edited for TV

w1804553 — 2023-12-11 03:46:17 UTC

This video has been edited so the darkest parts are lit up enough to show up on old CRT TVs, such as the one I have in my current space.